So where’s big politics in all of this flegs crisis. Answer: It is getting smaller and less apparent every day that passes. So far OFMdFM have issued two statements. The first was as follows:
The First Minister Rt Hon Peter D. Robinson MLA and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness MP MLA have this evening spoken to the Speaker of the Assembly to ask him to bring forward the Plenary sitting of the Assembly on Monday 10 December in order to discuss an agreed motion in relation to recent disturbances.”
And the second…
“We recognise and support the right to peaceful protest but the way forward is through dialogue.
“The current protests are damaging Christmas trade and the local economy as well as disrupting peoples’ daily lives.
“An absence of street protests would provide the space to allow us all to work together to find an agreed solution.”
Which from two parties which have failed in five years of promising a new Cohesion, Sharing and Integration strategy [And let’s not even talk about anti poverty – Ed] will translate to too many as, ‘erm trust us? We’ll have a cup of tea, a chat, and… well, you never know…”
Less whimsically, the problem is that having played all its political cards, the political institutions seem to have nothing left to play on this one, other than to complain about why the cops can’t just arrest people the way they did in Ardoyne (of which more, but later)…
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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